The Donkey card game brings up a lot of childhood memories. Remember those times when school would be over, and you would get all your friends to play it with you? You are sitting on your bed with your father’s deck of cards and friends with a glass of Rasna while playing Donkey used to be the idea of hanging out back then. Times have changed; we have all grown older. But, sometimes we all like to go back to our early days. It is time to re-learn the game that used to be such a favourite back in the day. What do you think?

Compared to other card games, the donkey card game is new. It’s a newer version of an 18th-century English card game called Old Maid. Some say the origin of this game lies in an ancient gambling game. The rules were simple, and the loser had to pay for the drinks. Old Maid is closer to the version that we play now than the old gambling game, though. The best part about Donkey is that it is a fun game with simple rules. You can play it with friends, family and co-workers, any time you want to.

Things you need to play the card game Donkey

A standard deck of 52 cards is enough for playing Donkey. Along with that, you will need some tokens. The number of tokens should be one less than the total number of players. You need three to five people to play the game. You can play with more if you want to. So, if you decide to play with five people, you will need four tokens.

When it comes to cards, a fair rule to follow is to multiply the number of players with five. The final number should give you an idea about how many cards you need. If five people are playing, then the number comes to twenty-five. You have to ensure that there are as many sets of fours as possible when your playing with a lower number of cards than fifty-two. This will allow players to form runs of four without any problems.

Playing Donkey

First, you choose a dealer who will shuffle and deal the cards. Five cards are dealt out to each player. Once dealing is complete, everyone can look at their cards. The purpose of the game is to create a set of cards that are of the same rank — the person who gets to do this the fastest and grabs a token wins the game. In the end, there will be someone who does not get to take a token. This person will be the loser and receive the first letter of the word ‘Donkey’. The game goes on till someone receives all the letters of the word.

Some players insist on chanting, ‘Pass, two, three, four’, which can make the game confusing and exciting at the same time. The purpose of doing this is to make it harder to concentrate while you are looking at your hand. Now, getting back to the game, you need to pass a card to the player on your left. This should ideally be a card that you will not need to form a set. The idea is to have a set of four Kings, or four Jacks and have one card left over.

Every time you pass a card, you receive one from the player on your right. So, you have to time it right and see if you receive a card that helps you form a set. If you get a winning hand, don’t declare it. Just grab a token so that you are safe from being the ‘Donkey’. Be careful and crafty so that people don’t even notice you while you grab the token. However, keep on playing the game and passing the card that you don’t need for your set. Soon, other people will start grabbing their tokens.

The player who is the odd one out and does not have a token receives the first letter of ‘Donkey’, and the card game continues for another round.

Often if there are more than seven players, an entire deck is used to play the game. In such situations, the rules are modified. People can form double sets of three cards.

Donkey Card Game in the Online Age

Thanks to technology, you can play the donkey card game anywhere you want to. There are some websites and apps that allow you to connect with your friends and play the game online. At Rupee Casinos we bring the best selections in online card games in India so that you can sit back, relax and enjoy playing.